Chicago Bears Draft Grade for Velus Jones Jr

I should just apologize to Mr Jones right off the bat. I got fooled by PFF, didn’t dig deep enough and got blindsided by this pick. In my defense, Mr Jones, by the third round I was so all over the map it wasn’t even funny. Several of my favorites went undrafted.

Still, I call this place Halas Hall Kool Aid for a reason, so of course Velus Jones Jr gets an A+ Draft Grade, and it did not take long to figure out why. His highlight reel is a delight. Not only is he fast, but Velus Jones Jr looks like he enjoys mixing it up physically and being aggressive. He’s not “fragile, tiny guy” fast, he’s surprisingly fast for a tough kid.

But there is a dynamic with this draft pick that is just dripping with Kool Aid inspiring stuff. If you haven’t heard the recording of the phone call between HC Matt Eberflus and Velus Jones Jr, you missed way more than just an excited draft pick.

You missed Matt Eberflus asking Jones (and predicting the answer), “You knew this was gonna happen, didn’t you?” And you missed ‘Flus mentioning their great (pre-draft) conversation.

I heard it the other day for the first time and I couldn’t help connecting the dots between that and Ryan Poles’ revelation that he and Justin Fields had watched film together. Life doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and in the NFL, even less so, despite the need for secrecy for competitive advantage.

This may just be electric Kool Aid talking, but it sounds pretty plausible to me that there may have been a consensus between Fields, Poles, ‘Flus, and (I do dare hope) Luke Getsy, on the available WRs in the draft. Mind you, Poles did NOT say the WR class was deep, but OL was, and DL, if I got the drift right, he thought had similar quality late, but fewer of them.

Not being an insider, I can only hazard a guess, but such a consensus sounds quite unprecedented to me! But after all the QB anger last year, Justin Fields may well be just one of several involved QBs this offseason. I thought Aaron Rogers nonchalant response to GB going D-D with two 1st rounders made more sense with the WR they opened day two with.

It’s a good bet they at least asked who he liked and why.

I’m not gonna lie, it boggles my mind to think that the Bears could be so forward thinking. But, that keeps perfect pace with the huge number of recent things I keep filing under, “Wait! Are we still talkin’ about the Bears here?”

Frankly, if there was a consensus, I am not just more thrilled with the pick, I’m also feeling a little more “off the hook” on not seeing Velus Jones Jr coming. That is a whole extra layer of thickly woven data I don’t have access to. How’s a body to guess?

Personally, I love seeing a couple of speed demons in my passing formations, and if I need a big, possession guy, my TE needs to do that. When we finally get a “prototypical X” guy, that will be great, but I see Mooney and Jones opening up plenty of running lanes in the meantime.

Bear Down, and Pass the Halas Hall Kool Aid.